Title: Menagerie (Menagerie #1)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Mythology
Length: 429 pages
Publisher: MIRA
Release Date: September 29, 2015
Rating: 5
Heat Rating: 2
Reviewed by: Cerridwen
When Delilah Marlow visits a famous traveling carnival, Metzger's Menagerie, she is an ordinary woman in a not-quite-ordinary world. But under the macabre circus black-top, she discovers a fierce, sharp-clawed creature lurking just beneath her human veneer. Captured and put on exhibition, Delilah in her black swan burlesque costume is stripped of her worldly possessions, including her own name, as she's forced to "perform" in town after town.
But there is breathtaking beauty behind the seamy and grotesque reality of the carnival. Gallagher, her handler, is as kind as he is cryptic and strong. The other "attractions"—mermaids, minotaurs, gryphons and kelpies—are strange, yes, but they share a bond forged by the brutal realities of captivity. And as Delilah struggles for her freedom, and for her fellow menagerie, she'll discover a strength and a purpose she never knew existed.
Renowned author Rachel Vincent weaves an intoxicating blend of carnival magic and startling humanity in this intricately woven and powerful tale.
At first I really didn't think I would like this book. I'm not into the whole carnival thing. I LOVED IT! It really made you think about what if we really had mythological creatures among us? How would society handle it? You are transported beautifully by Vincent's words to this time and you can feel the empathy and rage almost pouring off the page.
It's a different kind of read which was refreshing and I am happy that there seems to be a series in the works.
